WRX – Ekström wins next trophy with Audi and EKS, Nico Müller in the final

Mattias Ekström has won the next trophy in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. At the tenth round of the season in Riga, the Swede finished second and was only beaten by his compatriot Johan Kristoffersson. The Volkswagen driver was crowned 2017 FIA World Rallycross Champion in Latvia with two rounds to spare and therefore succeeds Ekström, who is currently third overall. Kristofferson’s PSRX Volkswagen Sweden squad also secured the teams’ championship two races before the end of the season – EKS is third in this classification.

On the challenging track in the Latvian capital, the drivers had to deal with constantly changing conditions yet again. After sunshine on Saturday morning the heavens opened. On Sunday the track dried out very slowly before it started to rain lightly again just before the final. “Despite the changing weather conditions, it was a really good weekend for us,” said Ekström. “For the first time we had four cars in the semi-final and my second place. I’m especially pleased for Nico who made the final in only his second event.”

Audi DTM driver Müller beamed with joy after the final: “I’m mega happy,” summarized the Swiss. “It was fantastic to start in the final with Mattias. A big thank you to the entire team for the support.” Local matador Reinis Nitišs missed making the final in front of his home crowd. Nevertheless the Latvian drew a positive upshot: “On the whole it was a good weekend. Unfortunately, I lost a little ground after the start in the semi-final, but it is always a special feeling to race in front of your own fans. I think we were a great advert for the World Rallycross Championship.”

Toomas Heikkinen’s weekend did not end as planned. After the first day, the Finn held the lead in the classification and justifiably hoped to finish well up the field. However, in the semi-final a driveshaft broke. “Unfortunately you can’t turn the clocks back. Now I have to look to the future,” said Heikkinen. In just two weeks the 26-year old has the chance to strike back. The eleventh of twelve world championship rounds is held at the Estering close to Buxtehude on September 30 and October 1.

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Sport-Auto.ch is an online magazine that provides news of motor sport in Switzerland and the Swiss pilots in all competitions. Founded in 2012 by Sébastien Moulin, the site is now managed by a great team of a dozen passionate authors.